One of the things I like to do at the beginning of a new year is to do a home blessing.
And before my move to my new house in a few weeks I will prepare one of the most traditional items :
A Witch bottle or in German "Bartmannskrug".
This really sets the stage for a safe and prosperous year, and in these trying times, who doesn’t want that?
Witch bottles are a little bit neglected these days but for hundreds of years they were very popular across Europe and USA as well, particularly three or four centuries ago. In England most of country households had at least one special bottle buried somewhere and they still regularly turn up during renovations of old buildings.
The most popular places to hide witch bottles used to be under the doorstep.
But sometimes they were hidden into the walls, in attics and buried in gardens.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witch bottles often had faces stamped in the glass or stoneware. In Germany and the Netherlands they were called “Bellarmine Jars” or in German “Bartmannskrug”.
And they still exists in a German manufacture where you can buy them.
Folk magic contends that witch bottles protect against evil spirits and magical attack, and counteract spells cast by witches; they are counter-magical devices, the purpose of which is to draw in and trap harmful intentions directed at their owners.
Any negative magic aimed at the house will always go straight to the witch bottle, avoiding the people in the home and
were commonly buried to ward off spells during the late 16th and 17th centuries.
Historically, the witch's bottle contained hair, nail clippings or red thread and filled up with the urine of the one that cast the spell. The urine was believed to lure witches traveling through a supernatural “other world” into the bottle, where they would then be trapped on the pins’ sharp points. Other witch bottles were filled with rosemary, needles, pins,red wine, teeth, sand, stones, knotted threads, feathers, shells, herbs, flowers, salt, vinegar, oil, coins, or ashes.
The Witch Bottle is believed to be active as long as the bottle remains hidden and unbroken.
The following recipe is for creating your very own witch bottle for protecting your home and family all year long.
You will need:
1 glass jar with cork stopper or lid
1/2 to 1 cup salt (depending on size of the jar)
3 cloves garlic
9 bay leaves
7 TBS dried basil
4 TBS dill seeds
1 TBS sage
1 TBS anise
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS fennel
1 bowl
Your own urine, or nail clips or hair
In the morning, ideally on a bright and sunny day, assemble all items.
Place the salt into the bowl and say:
“Salt that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the cloves of garlic to the bowl and say:
“Garlic that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Crumble the bay leaves, place in the bowl and say:
“Bay that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the basil and say:
“Basil that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add dill and say:
“Dill that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the sage and say:
“Sage that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the anise and say:
“Anise that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the pepper and say:
“Pepper that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add the fennel and say:
“Fennel that protects, protect my home and all within it.”
Add your urine, nail clips and hair
Mix the salt and herbs together with your fingertips. When mixing, visualize your home as safe and protected and visualize the witch bottle as a strong guardian of your home. Pour the mixture into the jar, seal tightly, and place in your home while saying the following words:
“Salt ,herbs, my own fluid, hair and nail, nine times nine
Guard now this home of mine.
So be it.”
If you want to get creative, you can paint your bottle with magical symbols or a face .
You will set the correct energy in motion for a safe and prosperous New Year and home.
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